Noise Testing BMCC6K Full Frame VS Sony ZVE1 (A7SIII, FX3, FX6)

I have done a quick noise comparison between Black Magic Cinema Camera 6K (latest full frame) BMCC6K and Sony ZVE1 ( same sensor as A7SIII, FX3, FX6).

I know the Sony will have internal NR applied but BMCC6K even after noise reduction is significantly behind.

Further more I made a worrying discovery that Blackmagic and most reviewers online have the second BASE / Native ISO for BMPCC6K wrong. You can clearly see from my test that the secondary gain circuitry switch is happening at 1250 ISO - NOT at 3200 as advertised everywhere else making that camera really weak performer for lowlight.

#bmcc6k
#sonyzve1
#davinciresolve

[CINENIMUS]

There has been a bunch of keyboard warrior “know it all’s” here who don’t actually even own a camera let a lone know how to use one trolling hard so I wont reply to them here if anyone has a legit question - feel free ask under another video though 🫡

[JELmusic]

The ISO switch-over point happens when going from ISO 1000 to 1250. They use a negative/positive dB gain to set all other ISO values. Zero dB gain is ISO 400 and 18 dB gain is ISO 3200. BM has a table very clearly illustrating this technicality on their website (Being an 'influencer' on youtube is not always the same as being a professional who understands technical issues in greater detail, but today you learned something new so be happy about that :) )

[relaxwithme]

Yeah this isn’t what you think it is. That digital NR in Sony cams is precisely what contributes to the plastic look of the footage. The beauty of the BM approach (like RED and ARRI) is that you get to choose how much NR you want in post - and it takes 2 seconds.

[MistaFussichannel]

What is this video supposed to show?
It looks like you’re comparing RAW data against a compressed codec that has noise reduction applied. Is that what you’re trying to show?
If you want to show what the Blackmagic footage looks like when processed you need to add the Blackmagic lut to the footage then compare them apples to apples.
Also in your blurb you imply that the secondary gain kicks in at 3200. It doesn’t kick in at 3200. 3200 is where you will get the best dynamic range in low and highlights. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Also please correct this post if you’re wrong.

[dollhausenx]

I did some lowlight shooting last night with my BMCC6k and was shocked by how terrible the 3200 footage looked. The 1250 was so much cleaner, but underexposed. Also, peaking goes to hell at higher ISOs. My "real world" footage pretty much matched your noise tests. I don't shoot that much at night, but I have thought about the Sony ZV-E1 as a night camera if I went in that direction.

[champagnesocialist]

Thanks for presenting your tests. I’d love to have a play with the Full Frame Black Magic. Noise isn’t necessarily a huge problem if the camera is delivering beautiful images, which is what I constantly see from this camera. As for my own recent experience with the Sony FX3, I shot a 4 month project with it alongside the Zcam E2 M4. The Zcam is not only cleaner at the base iso 500/2500, but also substantially sharper and with more dynamic range than the FX3. I also found the 12800 iso of the FX3 exposed identically to the M4 at 5000 iso, which means the Sony is 1.5 stops darker… I have a real world scene to demonstrate this and plan to post it soon

[csound]

A real world comparison would be more useful. I much prefer footage I've seen from the BM 6K FF to anything I've seen from an FX3.

[MadamPeep]

I thought Black Magic second gain ISO was 3200?? 😳

[jasp]

This is why I have the 6kFF for my interviews and narrative work, and a ZV-E1 for events and as my personal camera

[JochyEstrella]

I'll trade 12bit Raw for Noise any day any time, the plastic look coming from the compressed images of most sony and canon cameras is not comparable, having some noise or grain sometimes is very desirable as it makes the footage more organic and realistic imho, for the price; this camera with open gate, Pro L mount and the low pass filter can't be beaten and makes it the ONE i been waiting for from BMD.

[russelljohnfilms]

Was the sony recorded in SLOG 3? Or a different profile?

[Bigcookfilms]

Sony has the most aggressive NR that you can't turn down or off...As a previous A7siii owner I hated the plastic look

[SP]

Looks more like one is heavily processed and the other is raw

[Alex-CPopa]

now I have seconds thoughts about buying this camera :(

[ludovicavice]

That's one way to make the greatest and most horrible test measuring low light capabilities of a camera..its why lattitude tests exist 😅